A village without Road Connectivity in Sopore

Sopore :“Marbal”a village in Zaingeer belt of north kashmir’s Baramulla district is yet to get basic infrastructure.The village that houses 51 families has no road connectivity and is totally disconnected from the rest of the district.A group of villagers from Marbal Village told Kashmir Despatch about their difficulties and urged the higher authorities to take steps to provide road connectivity to this missing village.

Photo : Peerzada Waseem

Alleging the district administration of improper approach towards the village which according to them has resulted in non-development of the area, the locals said that; “They (authorities) have failed us on every front, they said while adding that it is because of this step-motherly approach, that we are yet to see any development in our village.”

The inhabitants of Marbal village in Zaingeer belt have to walk at least 4 km to reach a place with road facility. They have to walk their way if they want to go to Sopore town or visit their relatives on a road, which is uneven and filled with rocks.In case of emergencies, the only mode of transport is shoulder to shoulder. This is why the people of this missing village in north Kashmir are living in dark without knowing what is happening all around them and are facing many hardships for want of road and communication facilities and the sad part is in this modern world no newspaper reached the missing village, radio was the only communication for receiving news. The village has no access to telephone services as well.

The common mode of transport for any emergency, like shifting patients or pregnant women to hospital or any other medical emergencies, is shoulder to shoulder. This journey takes at least two hours to reach the nearest hospital. The villagers told The Kashmir Despatch that as many expectant mothers have been dying en route to the hospital due to the non connectivity of road and step-motherly approach of government towards this missing village. The villagers criticized the government for its apathy in fulfilling their demand for a road facility.The villagers while talking with Kashmir Despatch Correspondent said that “We can lead a decent life and can educate our children too if the authorities will provide basic facilities for this missing village. They said our children is also having dream to move forward and to make their future bright but we dont have facilities which forced them to live a life of miseries.

Photo ; Peerzada Waseem

Meanwhile when contacted MLA Sopore Abdul Rashid told Kashmir Despatch that funds have been released on the construction of road for said village from other route Yambalzer, he added that work has already been started for the road and very soon this long awaited genuine demand will be redressed and they will easily walk from one place to another MLA Sopore said.

When this newspaper tried to contact Minister for roads Nayeem Akther despite repeated attempts he was unable for commits.